A turn of the phrase
by cuby18
Summary: Or Alex experiencing a well-known phrase understood a lot more literally than it's a norm. Written for Spyfest 2019 week 4


**It appears I'm one of those overly ambitious people since I've yet to complete my story for FicExchange... **

* * *

**For the prompt: ''[Character], pick your poison''**

* * *

**Pick your poison**_**; as understood at Malagosto (a.k.a. the potentially deadly variation)**_

Alex was speculatively and slightly nervously eying the vials in front of him. They were all unlabeled, either half-full of differently coloured liquids or suspicious white powder. He was standing in a half-circle with the other trainees, paying close attention to the speech being delivered, since in these classes inattention might cost you way more than just a failing grade. Or, to put it bluntly, that failing grade might also be your last.

He was surprised when it was revealed that it was The Countess* teaching that lesson since poisons, by default, fell under the jurisdiction of Miss Binnag and her botany lessons, but got over his surprise quickly enough as the lesson started. The Countess was arguably the best person to teach them how to apply different poisons to different situations, especially since every social environment called for different settings and food, therefore offering different opportunities to either conceal the taste of the poison with food or drink or just different options of applying it if you didn't care about the victim knowing they were being poisoned.

So, here they were, about to plan the perfect assassination with the poison they would choose blindly. It was somehow unreal, looking at these adult people surrounding him looking all giddy like kids on Christmas morning about to open their gifts. Although, if he was honest with himself, the thought did excite him a little, as long as it stayed purely theoretical, of course. The Countess was just finishing giving her instructions, and everyone prepared to grab a bottle that caught their fancy.

Alex was first at the table and managed to snatch the vial with white powder off the edge of the line just before Amanda's hand closed around the thin air. She glared at him from the side but quickly grabbed the one next to it, containing something blue and full of little crystals.

Once everyone had their pick of the deadly substance and formed a line she started with another set of instructions, this time related to their choices.

She told them, with genuine regret colouring her voice, that since they didn't have time to obtain some lab rats for them to test the contents of their vials on, they will be told the name of the poison directly (she couldn't really hide her distaste at the thought), but will consequently have only two days to come up with the solution to the problem. The trainees used to get a week at least since they were expected to come up with a way to identify the substance, preferably without sampling it, but it was accepted as the last resort although a bit frowned upon. However, because of the circumstances out of their control, they only had to fulfil the second part of the task, meaning they either needed to find a perfect way to make it undetectable in a formal event or the most efficient way to use it for torture.

Alex quickly decided for the first option, although he almost wavered in his resolve once he discovered that yes, he did grab for himself a nice little vial of cyanide. The Countess cheerfully told him that no, mixing it with water won't work since no one in their right mind would miss the bitter taste and smell of almonds that accompanied it, regardless of what the movies like to portray.**

''The results will be announced on Wednesday, after a small formal get-together for those currently at Malalgosto. You can hand in your ideas and the detailed description of their execution anytime before the announcement.'' With these parting words, she left the ballroom in which they were gathered.

Alex's mind was racing. The idea he just got was crazy. But on the other hand, the way The Countess delivered her comment about the water and her parting words got him thinking. And Scorpia did put a great deal of emphasising on ingenuity and you truly had to be daring in their business. The only thing left was calculating the chances of his plan going down in flames or catapulting him on top. He sighed. He knew from the very beginning that he would go with the plan, damn the consequences. Hoping it won't backfire he slowly exited now empty ballroom, he was so caught up in his thoughts he never noticed others leaving.

It was time he learnt how to make macrons.

Two days later, at the party.

Alex was bubbling with excitement. The fear was almost gone, all that was left was anticipation. So far everything went according to plan. In only he could execute the last stage without a hitch it would be great. And if he hadn't miscalculated it would also have brought him the top spot in this competition as everyone viewed this particular assignment.

He knew for a fact that everyone else had already handed in written reports, the length varying from sixty to ninety-tree pages. And here he was, still without any intention of writing anything down.

Noticing The Countess enter the room he breathed in deeply and nodded at the server to indicate the beginning of his plan. The only indicator that the sign was noticed was that he changed his route, picked up a plate of macrons with almond cream and unobtrusively offered one to The Countess. She took one and Alex smirked victoriously, so far everything followed the script.

He waited until she had bitten into it to pick up two champagne flutes from the table (it wasn't high on anyone's list of priorities to keep their only underage student away from the alcohol, it was viewed more as a learning experience) and started moving through the ballroom. He reached her just as she was about to step onto the elevated podium, where she would most likely deliver the results.

He smiled at her, using everything that he learnt at her lessons.

''You look beautiful,'' he complimented her. ''I'd ask you for the honour of dancing with you, but since I can see you have a speech to deliver, may I offer you some refreshment?'' He gallantly offered her a flute. She took it elegantly, gave him a smile in thanks and brought it towards her nose. She breathed in deeply once, twice, then smiled.

''Well done, Mister Rider,'' she gave him small, amused smile. ''I didn't dare hope anyone would go that route. You were the only one that picked up on my hint.''

Casting another amused look at the flute in her hand, she spoke again. ''The macrons were a great idea, I daresay you made them yourself?'' at his nod she continued. ''The almond aroma was perhaps a bit over the top, but it would work as intended on almost anyone else.''

She gave him back the untouched flute. ''I hope you won't be too disappointed if I don't drink it after all. I have an announcement to make.''

He saw her ascend the steps and as quickly as etiquette allowed moved to the fringe of the dancefloor from where he had the perfect view of other trainees, as he waited to see their faces when the winner was announced. Because if he wasn't very much mistaken he had just secured his victory.

His thoughts were confirmed when she completed the expected pleasantries and started the announcement everyone was waiting for.

''While all of you showed a great deal of potential, and, in some cases, daring, there was one plan that surpassed the hundreds of pages you handed in. Alex Rider was the only one here to surprise me, as well as the only one to notice my hint. Therefore I'd like to congratulate him for a job well done,'' here she nodded at him, ''as for the rest of you… Well, be careful with any drink he offers you.'' With these parting words, she descended the stairs, a clear signal fort he party to restart.

Alex couldn't help but sent a victorious smirk to Walter that was mocking him the whole evening about failing the assignment. And if he checked every drink twice for the remainder of his training and also, although to a lesser extent, for the rest of his life, it was in no way connected to that one happening. It just served as an additional reminder that alcohol bears more dangers than simply inattention because of overindulging. Cirrhosis of the liver was just one of the dangers. In his world, it would be more likely used to either dull his senses or outright kill him. Champagne, for instance, could serve to conceal the subtle aftertaste of certain substances, as he managed to prove quite successfully once already.

* * *

***I kind of stole her from Russian Roulette because there just wasn't anyone as well-suited in Scorpia that Alex interacted with, so pretend she's still working there**

****That is the actual quote from one of my professors**


End file.
